Cove Rangers FC: News Archive

CIVIC RECEPTION HONOURS COVE RANGERS FC
At the beginning of October, Aberdeen City Council played host to a civic reception in honour of Cove Rangers achieving a clean sweep of Highland League silverware in the 2000-2001 season.

The picture shows Cove Rangers Manager Bob Summers and Club Captain Dougie Baxter with the trophies from the ultimate in successful seasons.

Cove easily saw off the challenge of Rothes in this Highland League fixture at Allan Park. On a bright warm afternoon, Cove took the lead after just 3 minutes through Jappy.
A Beattie hat-trick and goals from Couts, Adam and on his welcome return from injury, Kenny Coull gave 3 convincing league points to Cove.

With Ray Charles back in goal and Kenny Coull returning from injury, Cove's season may well be back on track.

Attendance : 320

Cove see off Keith
Cove saw off Keith on Saturday 8th December in a close-fought game at Allan Park.

A superb performance from the whole team led to a deserved 3-2 win over the Millenium HFL Champions.

Click on the headline for match report from www.footballnews.co.uk.

Match reports will appear on this link from the Monday after a Saturday game or the day after a midweek fixture.

Next Fixture - Saturday 15th December 2001
Cove's next fixture is AWAY to Lossiemouth on Saturday 15th December. Kick-off is at 3pm.

Although Cove will be looking to extend their winning streak and consolidate their league position, they won't be taking Lossie lightly. Cove had to battle hard to gain a 2-1 victory over Lossie in July at Allan Park, and the opposition, despite a lowly league position, have proved capable of more than a few shocks this season.

Supporters Club bus will leave Allan Park at 12pm for this fixture. Cost is £7 adults or £4 for children, but remember all away travel to HFL games is free to Supporters Club members. Click on the link below to find out how to join the CRFC Supporters Club.

Mike Beattie was the star of the show with 4 goals, taking him to the top of the HFL scoring chart, but it was a solid and capable team performance that won the day. Click on the headline above for full match report.

Six of the best as Broch stage late fightback
Cove came back from the Broch feeling that they had dropped two points from a see-saw game that saw the boys in blue lead three times only to be denied a victory by an equaliser in the last minute.

Kenny Coull scored a fantastic solo goal to cap his return from injury. Meanwhile, Dougie Baxter's sending off means he will miss the home match vs Fort William this weekend (12th January). Click on the headline to read the full match report from www.footballnews.co.uk.

2 goals from Mike Beattie and a John Coutts effort steered Cove home, but it was evident that Dougie Baxters influence in midfield will be missed during his suspension. Full match report can be read by clicking on the headline above, or click on tables on the left for the latest league table.Cove boss Bob Summers said in the Press and Journal "Why do we always do it the hard way?" - he may have a point!

Cove face long trek for Reds clash
This Saturday, 19th of January, sees Cove make the journey north to Sutherland to take on Brora at Dudgeon Park.

The squad will be the same as the one that faced Fort William last Saturday, although if Arthur Murphy did sustain a groin injury in that game, as some reports stated this week, he may be struggling. Donnie Adam should also be fit after missing last weeks game with a stomach bug.

A win will keep Cove in the hunt at the top of the league and set up an interesting away trip to leaders Deveronvale the following Saturday.

Please note the the CRFC Supporters Club is NOT RUNNING a bus to Brora this Saturday due to lack of demand.

Cattachs crumble to Beattie hat-trick
Cove made light work of a Brora side who, despite their best efforts, never really troubled a Cove defence missing Niall Mullen and Arthur Murphy. Mark Emslie and Craig McHattie marshalled the back four superbly, and with Donnie Adam in control of midfield, Mike Beattie took his goal total to 31 for the season with another hat-trick in Cove's convincing 4-0 victory.

Assistant manager Kevin Walker may be glad to get a few players off the injured list in case he is named as sub again!

If Cove can take 3 points from this trip, the title race will be smashed wide open, with Cove only 4 points off the leaders with a game in hand, although Fraserburgh and Huntly are still in touch with the Banffers.

The weather may yet have a deciding part to play, with heavy rain and snow forecast until Friday. Niall Mullen is expected to be fit for the game, but there are doubts over Arthur Murphy and John Coutts.

Click on the headline above to see what Deveronvale are saying about the game.

Brora Rangers are a bye to the 2nd Round. A home tie against one of the "smaller" clubs is probably all we could have wished for at this stage. Pick of the round, however, is probably the Buckie v Forres game. Due to the fixture congestion, these games will now be SINGLE ties, with extra time and penalties if necessary.

According to HighlandLeague.net, Dougie Baxter will be back to lead the Blues on Saturday after confusion concerning his suspension dates was cleared up. Click on the headline above for more.

Late cancellation of Deveronvale clash leaves fans fuming

Apologies to all those fans who travelled to Banff on Saturday only to find it was a wasted trip. The referee has the final say in these matters, but to call off the game so late was nothing short of farce.

I have had to think very carefully about what to write about Saturday, so here goes. This is purely the opinion of myself and is in no way to be assumed to be the position or opinion of the club.

There was controversy at Princess Royal Park on Saturday as referee Craig MacKay called off the Deveronvale v Cove Rangers match just 40 minutes before kick-off.

The ground had been passed fit at 9am by Banff referee and HFL regular Mike Ritchie.

According to Cove boss Bob Summers the surface was fine apart from an area of heavy sand next the centre circle. Stuart Coull of the Aberdeen Evening Express also walked the pitch and said in the Green Final on Saturday that apart from the sanded area the pitch was in better condition than most of
the pitches that are played every week.

The Cove Rangers Supporters Club Bus arrived at 1.45, but strangely there were NO Deveronvale fans at the ground, or in the Royal Oak before the call that the game was off at 2.20. Now, call me cynical, but if their was even a slight chance the game could have been played, a pub 2 minutes from the ground should have been mobbed by home fans, should'nt it?? I'm sure I'm not the only Cove fan to smell a rat........

And if the pitch was so dangerous how come Greg Carroll had the Deveronvale team training on the pitch as we left at 3.30 (having drowned our sorrows!) if it was'nt fit for a game?

He also insinuates that the Cove committee, management team and team captain were the ones who got the game called off in the Press and Journal today, which is ridiculous and in my opinion, close to disreputable. We had a busload of 33 fans paying bus fares, etc. plus players and committee members on a 100 mile round trip, and the players were ready and willing to play!!!

We played on a worse surface at the Broch 3 weeks ago, and looking at the state of some of the pitches in higher leagues on the weekend (Peterborough in particular)we were not alone. We have played on worse before and will do so again.

Any comments regarding the above should be e-mailed to the WEBMASTER using the e-mail address on the bottom left of the menu column.

Cove come through County trial
Cove survived a pitch inspection and an early scare on Saturday to move to within 3 points of Deveronvale. Goals from Brown, Kenny Coull, Richie Craig and Mike Beattie saw Cove home safe after Nairn took the lead through Ronnie Sharp. Click on the headline above for the full report.

It's a revenge mission at Allan Park next Saturday as we take on Inverurie Locos. It should be a big crowd, so let's get behind the lads, and hope for a decent result!

Inverurie Game and League Table
Bill has now added a league table to the site, which is looking great. Click on the link to the left to access the table, which will be regularly updated.

The derby against Inverurie Locos takes place on Saturday, 9th February at Allan Park. Kick-off is 3pm. Come along, bring your friends and get behind the boys!! Cove will not only be out for revenge after their 8-2 defeat at Locos in November, but will be determined to keep the pressure up on Deveronvale. The only injury worry at present is Niall Mullen, who limped off at half time v Nairn with a leg knock, but apart from that, Bob Summers should have a full squad to choose from.

Cove just scraped past the Locies in a pulsating local derby at Allan Park on Saturday. The game had everything - goals, controversy, incident and emotion, and the fans even had sunshine! It was a real "game of two halves", with Cove looking like they would score almost at will in the first half - only to have the roles reversed in the second. A 92nd minute goal by Stephen Marwick sealed the points for Cove, but the fans were breathing huge sighs of relief at the end.

Some "interesting" refereeing decisions did'nt help the game either, but that is all I can say here!! (Without charges from the SFA that is!)

As usual, click on the header for a full match report and come and have YOUR say on our message board. Just follow the link on the left.

Next game for Cove - Buckie Thistle AWAY, Saturday 16/2/2002
Cove make the trip to take on Buckie Jags this Saturday, 16th February. This will be a stiff test of Cove's championship credentials against the Qualifying Cup Finalists, and to add a bit more spice, Bob Summers former club!!

Supporters Club are running a bus to the game, leaving Allan Park at 12.30pm and making the usual pick-ups. Call Brian to reserve your seat, or e-mail the webmaster and your name will be passed on. Cost is £4 adult members, £2 child or concession members / £7 adult non-members, £4 child/concession non-members.

Cove nearly slip up on "Jag-ged" edge
Cove came back from the dead to salvage an unlikely point away to Buckie last Saturday.
It was a poor performance from Cove until the last 5 minutes, when Ritchie Craig and Mike Beattie salvaged a point that even the most die-hard Cove fans had thought unlikely.

As usual, click on the headline for the match report.

We make the long trek north to Wick Academy next Saturday (23rd February 2002). Please note there is NO SUPPORTERS BUS going to the game. Contact Brian Dean for help arranging a lift should you wish to travel. If you require accomodation, try looking at the Caithness website and click on "Tourist Information".

BBC showing programme on Highlands and Islands Football
On Thursday 21st February at 8.30, BBC2 Scotland are showing a debate from Victoria Park in Dingwall on the state of football in the Highlands and Islands. It is part of the "Cunntas" series, and I believe it will be in Gaelic with English subtitles. It may be quite interesting viewing. Click on the headline above for details from the BBC website.

Friday, February 22Wick Match OFF
Kate has just informed me that the Wick Game is OFF tomorrow. More details will follow when we have them. It has now come to light that the Entire Highland League programme for tomorrow has been wiped out due to snow.

Tarff Rovers
This Saturdays opponents will be Tarff Rovers. They warmed up for us with a 6-0 Win over Creetown in the Potts Cup. It could be Tarff are a good side, or, Creetown are rubbish. Either way We Have Been Warned!!

Cove crash to Cattachs in horror show
Cove lost 4-3 at home to Brora on Saturday, probably guaranteeing that the Championship Flag will be flying elsewhere next season, after a second half performance that can only be described as awful.

Three goals up on 51 minutes, Cove looked well in control of the game. Then Brora pulled a goal back, our heads went down, and the same old story ensued (Locos, Clach, Buckie......) - except this time our luck ran out. It looked like we underestimated the Sutherlanders, despite their good results vs Fraserburgh and Deveronvale.

It was a desperately poor performance ("Inept" said Bob Summers in the Press and Journal today) from Cove. We can only hope that Bob and Kevin sort something out before the derby game with Huntly next Saturday (3pm, Allan Park). Click on the link above for the full match report from the Brora game.

Bob revealed that a breakdown in communication between himself and the Allan Park board was the main reason for his departure. Kevin Walker will take control of team matters in the interim. I'm sure all of us Cove Supporters will wish Bob all the best for the future and will give Kevin the backing required for the future.